Day Eleven: Climbing Mount Pocono. Thrice.

I took a trip 30 years back in time this morning. I had to fuel the van, so, taking advantage of our location, I drove to New Jersey. Gas was $3.95 a gallon there, and this was not a well kept secret. Along the way to New Jersey, we passed a gas station that had very recently closed (within the past week, with handwritten signs telling potential patrons "sorry, no gas"). Just across the state line, we found six gas stations, each with about 10 pumps, with each pump having about 4 vehicles in line. Apparently, everyone pulls off the Interstate there to get gas. We waited 15 minutes in line to fill!

Our lead riders picked an apt location for lunch. The local Subway restaurant let us each have a 6" sandwich. I killed time at lunch doing bike repairs and bike fittings. Allie's front shifter stopped working; a shop replaced it, and all is well now.

We're staying with the Mount Pocono United Methodist Church. At the last moment, Rebecca, one of the parishioners, got us food from our restaurant! We all appreciated this greatly.

When I got to the church, I decided that I needed some exercise. There is a 1200 foot climb to Mount Pocono, and after driving, I changed, and climbed it twice in two hours. Apparently, Kyle chalked on the road: "You are a badass..." and "...Jose drove" at the top of the climb, much to everyone's amusement. I put them in their place by doing the climb twice, faster than any of them did.

Off to Berwick! I just hope the rain stays far away.

Photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/mtsofan/2598195729/
http://flickr.com/photos/mtsofan/2599028170/
http://flickr.com/photos/mtsofan/2599027842/